If you lived in the western half of the United States, it might not have been obvious, but the month marked one of the warmest February months on record globally.
According to data released by NOAA on Monday, last month marked the fifth-warmest February globally since record keeping began in 1880. While western North America had a comparably cooler February, the eastern US, Europe, South America, Asia and Oceania all recorded above average temperatures.
Last month's global temperature was nearly 2 degrees above the average 20th century average.
NOAA also reported retreating ice levels in both the Arctic and Antarctic Arctic sea ice was 5.9 percent less than the 1981-2010 average. Antarctic sea ice decreased by 13.4 percent compared to 1981-2010 averages.
While the debate among non-scientists continues on climate change, the NOAA data shows that globally, the Earth is still in a warming pattern, and sea ice is decreasing.
And despite record-breaking cold in the Eastern US in late January, the December-February averages for the region have been slightly above average.
